Who owns the money if someone dies and has a family linked to the account? 15 Answers as of October 26, 2011

The answer to your question depends on the type of link to the account. In regard to the account of the decedent, if the link is a transfer on death ("TOD"), there is an argument that the money belongs to the designated person. On the other hand, if that person is the designated personal representative in the decedent's will, then circumstances may alter that presumption. If the person was on the account as an additional signer, then circumstances relating to the account and the relationship between the decedent and the person on the account will be helpful in revealing the intent of the deceased account owner. While the source of the funds will be of interest to show whose money was in the account, it may be as revealing to show how the money in the account was used during the decedent's lifetime. If all expenditures were for obligations of the deceased, the argument can be made that the other named party was on the account for convenience and there was no beneficial interest in the account intended. On the other hand, if the other party contributed to the account or used funds in the account for that party's personal benefit, it may show that was OK with the decedent provided that they knew about it. These types of determinations are always fact intensive.

If there is a designated beneficiary, that person gets the money, otherwise it goes to the defendants heirs.

If the account is a joint owner, in that there are two or more persons on the account and the account is not just linked, then the surviving owner is presumed the owner of the account. The presumption can be rebutted based upon the proven intent of the person who passed away. For example if my son and I have a joint checking or bank account and one of us passes away the survivor would own the account outright.

If the account is joint it belongs to the other party on the account.

It goes to the heirs unless the account was titled "(Deceased) and (Family Member) as joint tenants with rights of survivorship". If it was just having the family member as a signer on the account, then it is the heirs.

If the account is set up as a "joint account" or is made "payable on death" to a specific individual, the account will go to the joint holder or person to whom it is made payable. If a person's name is merely on the account as an "authorized signer", the account would not belong to that person upon death of the account owner.

Unless the account provided for "right of survivorship" to that person, or payable on death, they should only own the proportion they put in and not more.

The presumption is that the money belongs to the surviving owner of the account. The presumption can be overcome, as for example by the personal representative of the estate making demand for the money, but there will have to be some evidence of the decedent's intent in making the account joint. Joint accounts are the bane of my existence as an estate planner. Joint accounts should never be used except as a carefully considered part of a whole estate plan.

If the account was set up as Joint Tenants With Rights of Survivorship (JTWROS) it would go to the person on the account and would not be part of the estate. There could be an argument that the Decedent merely put the person on the account for convenience to pay bills when they couldn't and that it should be part of the estate. However, the bank will probably have distributed the funds to the person and you would have to sue to get them back and prove the intent of the Decedent.

In Florida, if an account has a joint owner, then at the death of one owner, it legally belongs to the other person. It does not matter that the other person did not put any money into the account.